Tesla… hello! You know you’re back in the eye of the storm, right? Yes, sure. This time it seems much more serious than ever, don’t you think? We’re not talking about false promises like the ones from your ex, we’re talking about how Musk’s company could be facing exemplary penalties in California for… (drumroll, please) having misled customers about the real capabilities of its autonomous driving systems!
What’s going on with Tesla?
Well… their CEO promises a lot and then delivers little. Like your ex, exactly! Now they’re facing a lawsuit filed by none other than the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)!!
They claim Tesla has exaggerated the functions of its Autopilot and Full Self Driving systems (really????). The DMV argues that the company’s ads suggest that the vehicles can drive themselves without human intervention, something that wasn’t true back in 2022 when the complaint was filed, and still isn’t true now, three years later!
What are they asking for?
As a measure, the DMV wants to block Tesla from selling cars in the state for 30 days and to provide financial compensation to customers who chose to believe “their lies”. But of course, this news couldn’t come at a worse time for Tesla, and let’s just say the good old days were much better.
Dangerous promises?
Oh, we’re the ones to blame for trusting what anyone says. For years, Tesla has promoted its Autopilot and Full Self Driving technology as the prelude to full autonomous driving, that dream of “driving” with your feet on the dashboard or taking a nap, and yeah, it all sounded like the peak of modernity!
Phrases like “From home, you’ll just have to tell your car where to go” have appeared in their ads, suggesting the driver can relax while the car does everything by itself… Tesla, why do you keep promising things you can’t deliver?
What’s the reality?
Nothing like what they promised, of course. The system requires constant driver supervision, and many experts agree that the names of these features create a false sense of safety. They’re not auto, they’re just pilot! In fact, several media outlets have repeatedly criticized Tesla for these labels.
DMV vs. Tesla
The DMV’s legal action accuses Tesla of false advertising, straight to the point. They also state that the vehicles cannot drive themselves, not now and not at the time those ads were aired, and that they made most drivers believe they could just relax behind the wheel.
So they want to corner Tesla and demand compensation for current owners. And it doesn’t look like they’re going to stop fighting anytime soon…
The worst moment for Tesla
California isn’t just any market for Tesla. The company has sold over a million electric vehicles in the state, representing nearly half of the registered electric car fleet there.
But recent data shows that sales have dropped by 20%! And yeah, Tesla and Musk are not at their best right now (we don’t even want to guess why sales might be falling), but with legal trouble on top of it all, things could get even worse.
Not the only open front
California isn’t the only region investigating Tesla. Several states and countries have opened cases after accidents where Autopilot was active, adding pressure to the company. Even though Musk and his team have defended the system as being safer than a human driver, the documented cases raise questions about its reliability.
What now?
Tesla’s immediate future in California is now in the hands of the courts. If the DMV gets what it wants, the brand might have to halt commercial activity and rethink how it handles advertising, maybe they’ll learn to follow through on what they promise!
Elon Musk, true to form, hasn’t directly responded to the lawsuit, but all signs point to this not being the last time we’ll hear about the issue. And while Tesla has managed to come out unscathed from many storms, this time it might run out of legal gas on one of its most important roads, ouch!